Percussion fuse



June 3, 1924. 1,496,271

. 0. JUNGHANS PERCUSSIOM FUSE Fil une 22, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet lyz 1&5.

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Ilia r June 3, H924. 1,496,271

0. JUNGHANS PERCUSSIOM FUSE Filed June 2?, 1923 y *il x v Ir H/ lPatented June 3, 1924.

UNITED STATES OSKAR JUNGHANS, OF SCHRAMBERG, GERMANY.

rnncnssron FUSE.

Application filed June 22, 1923. Serial No. 647,062.

To all whom itmay concern.

Be it known that I, OSKAR JUNGHANS, a citizen of the German Republic,residing at Schramberg, Germany, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Per: cussion Fuses, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to a percussion fuse and in particular to a fuse ofthe type having a movable member, such as a pin or the like, mounted inthe top portion of the fuse to project therefrom outwardly, and adaptedto initiate explosion by being moved. inwards on a mere contact with thetarget, soil and the like.

In fuses of the stated kind the projecting impact opin or the like is asource of permanent danger during transport and storage and for thisreason it has been suggested heretofore to remedy this defectbyproviding a separate projecting member whichis not applied to andinserted into the fuse except at the time of loading the gun orordnance. It has been found in military practice, however, that abipartite fuse of the kind is not convenient for several reasons.

The object of my invention is to provide a percussion fuse of the statedtype in which the movable impact member is entirely housed within thefuse body so as not to project therefrom, the construction of the fusebeing such that the said member, upon firing, will be movedautomatically from its inoperative or concealed position into theoperative or projecting position.

An embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the annexed drawings, inwhich 2-- Figure 1 is a longitudinal axial section of the fuse;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial sectional view taken on the line'33 of Figure 1;and

Figures 4 and 5 are sections on lines 4- 4 and 55, of Figure 1. I

The top portion of the body of the fuse has an axial bore in which themovable impact member, such as a pin a, is encased so as to be movabletherein lengthwise. The said pin a is provided with a collar 6 adaptedto co-operate with an inner annular flange or rib b at or near the outerend of the bore, when the pin 0; assumes itsforemost position uponfiring, the said flange or rib and the collar thus acting to determinethe extent or length to which the pin will project beyond the top faceof the fuse after firing. A spring 0 is coiled about the lower end ofthe pin so as to engage with its upper end the said collar and engagewith its lower end against a suitable abutting surface.

The lower end of the pin a which is encircled by the spring c, isprovided with an axial extension d of a smaller diameter than that ofthe main body of the pin. Said extension at is split and shaped to forma kind of spring fork, a casing or bushing 6 being provided in which thesaid split portion is normally received. The bushing e" is mounted to belikewise displaceable lengthwise against the action of a spring 7 coiledthereabout. Intermediate the ends of the extension at two lateralrecesses are provided, Figures 1 and 2, in which two slides g areadapted to engage, when the pin is forced into the interior of the fuseagainst the action of the hereinbefore mentioned spring 0, Figure 1. Thetwo slides g are mounted to be subject to centrifugal force, butnormally they are retained in known manner in looking position, asshown, by means of so-called pins it, so that any accidental unlockingof the pin a will be duly prevented.

The casing or bushing e is located above a vertical auxiliary pin 2' sothat all the parts such as the pin a, its extension d including thespringy lower end thereof, the bushing e and the pin 11 are in axialalignment. The pin i is movable axially and properly guided for suchmovement. Normally the pin 71 is seated with its lower end on the spring7' of the firing pin 70. The latter is locked in its uppermost orinoperative position by means of a block m, so that it cannot movedownwards (in the drawing). The block m is mounted to be subject tocentrifugal force, but is normally held against outward movement due tosuch force by means of a vertical bolt 0, the upper end of which isdisposed in the path of the block; said bolt being pressed downward anall) tween the percussion cap a and the igniting charge in the lowerpart of the fuse body. a bolt just referred to is subjected to theupward pressure of a coil spring u, but

held against movement, prior to firing,

by a centrifugally-operated lever '2) (Figures 1 and 4) which normallyprojects across its upper end, as shown; said lever 42 carrying a pin ortooth w which is engaged in. the adjacent tooth-space of the drivingwheel or gear 01 of the firing clockwork (Figure 4), so that the outwardswinging movement of the lever is prevented as long as the clockwork ismotionless. Ihe opening in the top of the fuse body is closed by meansof a lead-stopper or the like, in the usual way, but prior to theinsertion of the projectile in the gun or ordnance the stopper is to beremoved from the fuse.

The action of the mechanism is as follows On firing, the pins it movebackwards owing to their weight, so that the slides 9 will be unlockedand free to move towards the periphery of the fuse, due to centrifugalaction, into the position shown on the lefthand side of Figure 1,whereupon the pin a will be forced out by the action of its spring 0.This movement of the pin a, however, is limited by the collar bcontacting with the rib or flange 6 At the same time the extension d ofthe pin will be withdrawn from the bushing 6, but only so far that thedivided, springy end thereof will remain within the recessed orshouldered mouth p of the bushing and assume a spread or expandedposition therein due to its springy nature. The clockwork, which islikewise set in motion by the firing, rotates the wheel m in thedirection of the arrow (Figure 4), thereby rocking lever '2), due to itsengagement with tooth w, far enough to release the same, with the resultthat said lever is thus free to continue its movement under the actionof centrifugal force. The end of the lever is thus released from bolt t,which thereupon moves upward under the influence of spring 71 and, inturn, releases lever s. The latter then swings outward automatirally,due to centrifugal force, and disengages slide 1' which is likewiseoperated by centrifugal force, moving endwise in an outward direction.This frees lever g, which turns counter-clockwise around its point,withdrawing its supporting arm from beneath bolt 0; said bolt being thenmoved downward by spring n and releasing block I m, and the latter, inturn, moving outward and releasing the spring j of the firing pin k.Upon impact, the striker pin a will be forced inwards and the bushingand the inner pm i will be moved inwards by the thrust received from thepin a. As this inward movement is transmitted directly to the sprmgjconnected with the firing pin k so that the latter will be forcedbackwards towards the percussion cap or primer 2 and explosion iseffected in the usual manner.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that simple and eflicientmeans are herein provided for accomplishing the object of my invention,but while the means or elements shown and described are well adapted toserve the purposes for which they are intended, I wish it to beunderstood that my invention is not limited to the precise construction,arrangement and shape of the details shown and set forth, but includeswithin its purview such changes as may be made within the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is 1. In a percussion fuse for shells, the combination,with the fuse body, firing mechanism therein including a firing pin. anda striker slidably mounted in the nose of the body: of a bushinginterposed between the striker and the firing pin, and adapted toactuate the latter and an inwardly-extending stem on the striker havinga constant sliding fit in the bushing; said striker and bushing havingcoacting means for automatically and positively coupling them togetherwhen the shell is fired, thereby to cause them to move inward as a unitto enable the actuation of the firing pin by said bushing when thestriker is forced inward on hitting an object.

2. In a percussion fuse for shells, the combination, with the fuse body,firing mechanism therein including a firing pin, and a striker slidably'mounted in the nose of the body: of a bushing interposed between thestriker and the firing pin, and adapted to actuate the latter, aninwardly extending stem on the striker having a con stant sliding fit inthe bushing, means for normally holding the striker and its stem inretracted position, said means bein releasable automatically when theshell is fired, means for projecting said striker and stem outward whensuch release is effected, and coacting means on the stem and bushing forautomatically and positively coupling them together at the vconclusionof the outward movement of the striker whereby said stem and bushingwill be caused to move inward as a unit to the actuation of the firingpin by said bushing when the striker is forced inward on hitting anobject.

3. In a percussion fuse for shells. the combination, with the fuse body,and firing mechanism therein including a firing pin: of a strikernormally concealed in the fuse body and having an inwardly-extendingstem; a spring tending to project the striker outward: means for lockingthe striker in concealed position, said means being releasableautomatically when the shell is fired; a bushing interposed between thefiring pin and the striker and wherein the striker stem has a constantsliding fit, said bushing adapted to actuate the firing pin; andcoacting devices on the striker stem and bushing for automaticallycoupling them together at the conclusion of the outwardspring fork onthe inner end of the striker stem adapted to snap into engagement withsaid shoulder when the striker completes its outward movement.

5. In a percussion .fuse for shells, the combination, with the fusebody, firing mecha nism therein including a firing pin, and a strikerslidably mounted in the nose of the body: of a bushing having an annularshoulder at the outer end of its bore, and an axial extension on thestriker slidably fitting in said bore and having an expansible fork atits inner end which is adapted to automatically snap into engagementwith said shoulder when the shell is fired, thereby to couple thestriker and bushing together for inward movement as a unit to actuatethe firing pin when the striker hits an object.

6. In a percussion fuse for shells, the combination, with the fuse body,firing mechanism therein including a firing pin and a movable carrierfor the same, and a striker slidably mounted in the nose of the body: ofa bushing having an annular shoulder at the outer end of its bore, a pindisposed in line with the bushing and contactingat opposite ends withthe firing pin carrier and the inner end of said bushing, and an axialextension on the striker slidablv fitting in said bore and having anexpansible spring fork at its inner end which is adapted toautomatically snap into engagement with said shoulder when the shell isfired, thereby to couple the striker and bushing together for inwardmovement as a unit when the striker hits an object and to transmit suchmovement to the second-named pin and thence to the carrier for thefiring pin to actuate the latter.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

OSKAR J UNGHANS.

